| In the section | Review, Discussion, Criticism |
| Title of the article | Labor Shortage in the Regions of Russia |
| Pages | 163-186 |
| Author | Boris Ivanovich Alekhin Doctor of Economics, Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ORCID: 0000-0002-9571-4836 |
| Abstract | The objective of this research is 1) to explore time and space characteristics, as well as the origin of labor shortage and 2) to find out whether there exists a long-run equilibrium relationship between labor shortage and its determinants using panel data for 82 subjects of the Russian Federation over 2000–2021 and some tools of panel data econometrics. Since 2012 the number of job vacancies has exceeded the number of unemployed persons, and this excess has become a permanent feature of the labor market. The job vacancy rate grew by 0,12% annually and doubled over the observation period, which means ‘labor hunger’ did not fall as snow from the sky. In 78% of panel observations the job vacancy rate does not exceed the market benchmark of 3,5% , and the number of regions with a very low job vacancy rate greatly exceeds the number with a high rate, which does not support the idea of ‘labor hunger’ countrywide. The demand for blue-color workers is well above the average in industrial Russia, and the demand for white-color workers is above average in in less industrialized regions. There is a shortage of blue-color workers in regions with developed manufacturing, transportation, and service sector. Hence a high job vacancy rate for blue-color labor. Yes, there is another Russia, where these sectors are underdeveloped generating weak demand for blue-color labor. Labor shortage is multiregional shortage of predominantly blue-color workers. The results of econometric exercises suggest there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between labor shortage and its determinants such as real wage, the level of unemployment and business cycle |
| Code | 331.5+332.1+330.4 |
| JEL | C5, J21, R12 |
| DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.14530/se.2024.1.163-186 |
| Keywords | labour force shortage, excess demand for labour, cointegration, region, Russia |
| Download | SE.2024.1.163-186.Alekhin.pdf |
| For citation | Alekhin B.I. Labor Shortage in the Regions of Russia. Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika = Spatial Economics, 2024, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 163–186. https://dx.doi.org/10.14530/se.2024.1.163-186 (In Russian) |
| References | 1. Abel A.B., Bernanke B.S., Croushore D. Macroeconomics. Addison Wesley, 2008, 640 р. 2. Alekhin B.I. Human Capital and Regional Economic Growth in Russia. Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika = Spatial Economics, 2021, no. 2, pp. 57–80. https://dx.doi.org/10.14530/se.2021.2.057-080 (In Russian). 3. Andreev K.D., Demyanova A.V., Lola I.S., Pokrovskiy S.I., Usov N.A. The Labor Market of Certain Sectors of the Russian Economy: The Current Situation and the Expected Focus of Change. III Quarter of 2023. Moscow: ISSEK HSE, 2024, 46 p. Available at: (accessed ) (In Russian). 4. Engle R., Granger C.W.J. Co-Integration and Error Correction: Representation, Estimation, and Testing. Econometrica, 1987, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 251–276. 5. Farrar D.E., Glauber R.R. Multicollinearity in Regression Analysis: The Problem Revisited. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, 1964, 50 р. 6. Gimpelson V.E. Economic Activity of the Russian Population in the 1990s. WP3/2002/01 Preprint. Moscow: State University HSE, 2001, 48 p. Available at: (accessed November 2023). (In Russian). 7. Gimpelson V.E., Zudina A.A. Demographic Problems of the Labor Market. Demoskop Weekly [Demoskop Weekly], 2017, no. 729–730. Available at: (accessed November 2023). (In Russian). 8. Kapeliushnikov R.I., Oshchepkov A.Yu. The Russian Labor Market: Paradoxes of Post-Crisis Performance. Voprosy Ekonomiki [Economic Issues], 2014, no. 7, pp. 66–92. (In Russian). 9. Labour Demand and the Economic Cycle. Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, 1999, pp. 35–38. Available at: (accessed November 2023). 10. Personnel Hunger and Wage Growth: How the Labor Market has Changed and What Awaits It. RBK [RBC], 2024, 5 January. Available at: (accessed ) (In Russian). 11. Pesaran M.H. Time Series and Panel Data Econometrics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015, 1064 p. 12. Pesaran M.H., Shin Y., Smith R. Pooled Estimation of Long-Run Relationships in Dynamic Heterogeneous Panels. Department of Applied Economics University of Cambridge. Working Papers, 1997, 32 p. Available at: (accessed November 2023). 13. Quarterly GDP Forecast. Issue No. 60. Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2023, December. Available at: (accessed ) (In Russian). 14. Regional Economy: Comments of the General Directorate. Bank of Russia, 2023, no. 22, 54 p. Available at: (accessed October 2023). (In Russian). 15. Sindyashkina E.N., Mukhina I.I. Reserves for Increasing the Participation of the Population in the Labour Force. Naselenie i Ekonomika = Population and Economics, 2018, no. 3, pp. 114–127. (In Russian). 16. Yarovova T.V., Kalinkina V.V. Unemployment in Russia and Its Reasons. Educational Projects of the State as the Effect of Changes in the Labor Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Moskovskiy Ekonomicheskiy Zhurnal = Moscow Economic Journal, 2022, no. 1, pp. 582–583. (In Russian). |
| Financing | |
| Submitted | 21.11.2023 |
| Approved after reviewing | 25.02.2024 |
| Accepted for publication | 04.03.2024 |
| Available online | 01.04.2024 |